Teacher of the Year: Dr. Edward Zukowski
DeNobile, Mike
Issue date: 5/2/07 Section: Community
The final tallies are in and we have a winner! Professor of the Year for 2006-2007 is Dr. Edward Zukowski of the Religious Studies Department!
Known to many of his students as "Dr. Z," Dr. Zukowski was born on Christmas 1946 in South River, NJ, and still lives there today with his wife and 14-year-old son.
Class of 1964 at Mother of Savior High School in Blackwood, NJ, which no longer exists, Dr. Z went on to get a bachelor of arts in philosophy at St. Mary's College in Orchard Lake, MI, which also no longer exists, in 1968. He then earned a master of arts in theological ethics from the University of Detroit in 1971 (which still exists, for the record), and a doctorate in theological ethics at Fordham University (which definitely still exists) in 1984.
In college, Dr. Z discovered his passion for scholarly research and teaching, having the privilege of working with very enthusiastic professors, which he would later become.
From 1976 to 1987, he worked at both Cardinal Spellman High School and St. Catharine's Academy in the Bronx. While he enjoyed teaching at this level, Dr. Z wanted to have time to do original research, which is, in his words, "more difficult, but not impossible," at the high school level.
In his own words, Dr. Z describes his experiences as a professor at the Mount:
I am a very lucky man: I am doing what I love in a beautiful environment with wonderfully caring and hard-working people: (OK, so not all of them are hard-working), colleagues on the faculty, administrators, and staff. I have been and continue to be very happy at this good place. And I'm not a happy idiot. I've been around the block a few times-I've been at a number of schools-and it's not like this everywhere.
When asked "How would you define being a 'professor'? And why do you think you were nominated for Professor of the Year?" Dr. Zukowski says, "A professor is someone who tries to introduce students into a way of critically thinking about a subject area which they can competently continue to refine and deepen on their own, whether through requirement or free choice. I have no idea why I was selected, especially since I know there are others much more deserving of the honor."
Known to many of his students as "Dr. Z," Dr. Zukowski was born on Christmas 1946 in South River, NJ, and still lives there today with his wife and 14-year-old son.
Class of 1964 at Mother of Savior High School in Blackwood, NJ, which no longer exists, Dr. Z went on to get a bachelor of arts in philosophy at St. Mary's College in Orchard Lake, MI, which also no longer exists, in 1968. He then earned a master of arts in theological ethics from the University of Detroit in 1971 (which still exists, for the record), and a doctorate in theological ethics at Fordham University (which definitely still exists) in 1984.
In college, Dr. Z discovered his passion for scholarly research and teaching, having the privilege of working with very enthusiastic professors, which he would later become.
From 1976 to 1987, he worked at both Cardinal Spellman High School and St. Catharine's Academy in the Bronx. While he enjoyed teaching at this level, Dr. Z wanted to have time to do original research, which is, in his words, "more difficult, but not impossible," at the high school level.
In his own words, Dr. Z describes his experiences as a professor at the Mount:
I am a very lucky man: I am doing what I love in a beautiful environment with wonderfully caring and hard-working people: (OK, so not all of them are hard-working), colleagues on the faculty, administrators, and staff. I have been and continue to be very happy at this good place. And I'm not a happy idiot. I've been around the block a few times-I've been at a number of schools-and it's not like this everywhere.
When asked "How would you define being a 'professor'? And why do you think you were nominated for Professor of the Year?" Dr. Zukowski says, "A professor is someone who tries to introduce students into a way of critically thinking about a subject area which they can competently continue to refine and deepen on their own, whether through requirement or free choice. I have no idea why I was selected, especially since I know there are others much more deserving of the honor."
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